4 men sentenced to prison for robbing Euclid Radio Shack, 4 other stores

By Matthew Skrajner

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Four men were sentenced in federal court to prison for robbing several cell phone stores, including one in Euclid.

Curtis Bobbitt, 45, and Demonte Thompson, 23, both of Maple Heights, and Marlon Portis Jr., 23, and Miguel McGhee, 38, both of Cleveland, were convicted of robbing five electronics stores of about 500 cell phones valued at nearly $190,000 from Dec. 2010 to Oct. 2011, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in a release.

A Radio Shack in Euclid, located at 22318 Lake Shore Blvd., was robbed by Thompson and Portis of 110 phones valued at $56,058. The other robbed stores were located in Maple Heights, Garfield Heights, Cleveland and Macedonia.

The two men wore dark clothes, hats, gloves and masks to try to hide their identities. They also used duct tape to restrain employees, according to court records.

"This group barged into stores with guns, tied up workers and stole thousands of dollars worth of smartphones," Dettelbach said. "Our office will continue to use every available tool to target firearms crimes and gun violence."

Bobbitt and McGhee provided transportation to the robberies and transported the stolen phones. Bobbitt then sold the phones and distributed the payments to the other men, court records state.

"This case highlights cooperative efforts amongst law enforcement entities to ensure that violent offenders are held accountable for their actions," said Robin Shoemaker, special agent in charge of the Columbus office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue those individuals who disrupt and endanger the lives of innocent people."

McGhee was sentenced earlier this month to 20 years in prison on convictions of robbery and conspiracy to commit robberies. He must also pay $44,119 in restitution.

The other three men were sentenced this week.

Bobbitt received 19 years in prison on convictions of Hobbs Act conspiracy, brandishing a firearm while committing a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Portis and Thompson were both convicted of Hobbs Act conspiracy and brandishing a firearm while committing a felony. Portis was sentenced to 15 1/2 years in prison, while Thompson received 15 years.

In total, those three men were ordered to pay $188,126 in restitution.